Eugene Boudin was on the first French landscape painters to paint in the open air, looking directly at nature while painting his scene. Boudin was born in Trouville, France.
Claude Monet
Through his early years, he worked in a small art shop where Claude Monet displayed his paintings, Le Havre, Honfleur across Sienne’s estuary.
At the age of 18, Boudin persuaded Monet to become a landscape painter. This is evident in Monet’s later painting with bright hues playing with light and reflections on water.
Early Years of Eugene Boudin
So it can be said that Boudin was one of the founders of the Impressionist movement. However, he experimented with the Impressionist brush style which made Monet popular only in his later years.
He did not receive any recognition for his work till 1888 when the French government bought some of his paintings for the Luxembourg Gallery. Boudin was seen as a master by 1892 after which he received the Legion of Honour at the age of 68.
Eugene Boudin’s Life as an Artist
In 1835, Boudin’s family migrated to Le Havre where his father got a job as a stationer and frame-maker and became popular in his field. Eugene Boudin became an assistant in a small stationary sure and went on to open his own store a few years later.
While working in his store Boudin come in contact with various artists who worked in the area. Through these contacts, he displayed the paintings of Constant Troyon, Jean-Francois Millet, Jean-Baptiste Isabel and Thomas Couture in his shop.
Eugene Boudin Painting
These artists inspired and encouraged the young Eugene Boudin to pursue a career in painting. By the age of 22, Boudin stopped working as a stationer and pursued painting full-time.
He traveled to Paris and went on to Flanders. By 1853, Boudin came back to his town and began to realize his lifelong passion for painting the sea.
He made sure to include details like the waves, the weather, reflections in the sea, light and even the time of the day. Boudin met Claude Monet in 1858
Boudin’s works were exhibited with the Impressionists till 1874. From 1875, he exhibited in the official Salon. Among his paintings, Boudin’s beach scenes were popular. He did not exhibit in any other Impressionist exhibition, preferring the Salon system.
Eugene Boudin’s Travels
During his years as a painter, Boudin toured the country for inspiration. In 1861, he divided his time between Paris in the winter and the Normandy coast in the summer. To earn extra cash, he painted tourists on the beach which sold very well to those he captured on canvas.
Boudin’s love to travel took him to Brittany, Bordeaux, Belgium. Holland and Venice on a regular basis. He won a gold medal in 1889, at the Exposition Universelle. Later, Boudin moved to the south of France to pursue his career.
Eugene Boudin Facts
However, he was in Normandy at the time of his death. Boudin had an emotional connection to the place since it was there where he began painting landscapes and launched his career. This was the place which made him one of the mavericks of the era.
Some of Eugene Boudin’s works include Sur la page de Trouville, Women on the Beach Berck, Study of the Sky and the Coast of Brittany.
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